Milestone Rewards
Dec 19, 2018, 5:37 pm
#61
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,161
It looks like I get an extra $100 Hyatt gift card every year, and nothing else, with no downside. It's hard to complain about that.
I guess the loss of the 55-night thing is some downside, but with it being announced the same year as the new credit card, it seems pretty reasonable. Making the status too easy to achieve is one thing that will absolutely lead to devaluation. This is probably a good change for the long-term health of the program.
I guess the loss of the 55-night thing is some downside, but with it being announced the same year as the new credit card, it seems pretty reasonable. Making the status too easy to achieve is one thing that will absolutely lead to devaluation. This is probably a good change for the long-term health of the program.
Dec 19, 2018, 6:29 pm
#62
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Not guaranteed, of course, but I've gotten them every time that I can remember.
Dec 20, 2018, 12:54 am
#63
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
The welcome amenity points are back at which Hyatt properties? The bdstone statement was about welcome amenity points.
Dec 20, 2018, 1:01 am
#64
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
Dec 20, 2018, 1:39 am
#66
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,047
30 nights --> 15K point equivalent
40 nights --> 5K points or $100
60 nights --> 30K point equivalent
50K points per year. That is a helluva lot of 500/1k per stay bonuses... And now that P+C has been crushed, there's not too many other uses for points other than standard reward stays. Yeah yeah... expiration on the free nights, but I find more value out of a Category 7 within 6 months instead of a handful of welcome amenity points that might eventually get me a Cat 4 or 5...
Dec 20, 2018, 2:48 am
#67
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
Still complaining about welcome amenity points?
30 nights --> 15K point equivalent
40 nights --> 5K points or $100
60 nights --> 30K point equivalent
50K points per year. That is a helluva lot of 500/1k per stay bonuses... And now that P+C has been crushed, there's not too many other uses for points other than standard reward stays. Yeah yeah... expiration on the free nights, but I find more value out of a Category 7 within 6 months instead of a handful of welcome amenity points that might eventually get me a Cat 4 or 5...
30 nights --> 15K point equivalent
40 nights --> 5K points or $100
60 nights --> 30K point equivalent
50K points per year. That is a helluva lot of 500/1k per stay bonuses... And now that P+C has been crushed, there's not too many other uses for points other than standard reward stays. Yeah yeah... expiration on the free nights, but I find more value out of a Category 7 within 6 months instead of a handful of welcome amenity points that might eventually get me a Cat 4 or 5...
If Hyatt offered your one of these severely restricted Cat 1-4 awards in exchange for pts, how many pts would you be willing to pay? The same math holds for the Cat 1-7 cert. Who in their right mind would pay 30,000 pts for one? And if you're not willing to pay that many pts, it means you do not value it at that many pts.
The amenity pts were always a bit off balance because they rewarded hotel-hopping over longer stays, and I highly doubt they will ever come back, but I certainly can see that many members would much rather receive amenity pts that never expire and can be freely used to best advantage than these restricted free-nights certs.
Dec 20, 2018, 2:51 am
#68
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
Dec 20, 2018, 3:35 am
#69
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,436
I doubt there are too many people who would place a 15K pt value on a Cat 1-4 free night that not only expires in 6 months but also cannot be combined with a TSU or a Club Access Award, in fact per the T&S cannot even be on the same stay as other nights using a TSU or Club Access Award. Even less value if there is no Cat 1-4 in your area of movement or that you want to stay at.
You might convince me that a Cat 1-4 free night is worth 6000 points, but I still find that valuation generous.
Maybe you're right; I've never actually stayed at a "North American" Hyatt, since I don't consider Hawaii a part of North America...
Dec 20, 2018, 3:56 am
#70
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Much longer than that at USA properties, of course; it was already in place when I first qualified for Diamond in 2009, and a quick perusal of FT finds posts mentioning the points amenity dating to 2008. Not sure when exactly it was introduced.
Dec 20, 2018, 4:09 am
#71
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Still complaining about welcome amenity points?
30 nights --> 15K point equivalent
40 nights --> 5K points or $100
60 nights --> 30K point equivalent
50K points per year. That is a helluva lot of 500/1k per stay bonuses... And now that P+C has been crushed, there's not too many other uses for points other than standard reward stays. Yeah yeah... expiration on the free nights, but I find more value out of a Category 7 within 6 months instead of a handful of welcome amenity points that might eventually get me a Cat 4 or 5...
30 nights --> 15K point equivalent
40 nights --> 5K points or $100
60 nights --> 30K point equivalent
50K points per year. That is a helluva lot of 500/1k per stay bonuses... And now that P+C has been crushed, there's not too many other uses for points other than standard reward stays. Yeah yeah... expiration on the free nights, but I find more value out of a Category 7 within 6 months instead of a handful of welcome amenity points that might eventually get me a Cat 4 or 5...
Thank you for the spin.
These “Milestone Rewards” are part and parcel of the game of devaluing a program that also involves bringing back bits and pieces of what was removed earlier but only giving it to a much smaller slice of customers than was the case before.
Dec 20, 2018, 4:49 am
#72
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
Exactly, I would have ballparked it at 5,000 pts. To many members it is next to worthless. On one or two occasions I have let similar free nights expire rather than go out of my way to stay someplace.
Dec 20, 2018, 4:59 am
#73
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Osaka
Programs: Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold, UA
Posts: 3,158
For myself I think I see some value in the milestones. After losing Glob I thought I would easily sustain Explo, but for health reasons I have yet to stay a single night at any hotel anywhere since I became Explo this past March. Now that they're giving out 2 Club Access Awards at 20 nights I think I'll be happy to be just a Disc and hit 20 nights a year. Some might say it is just similar to the old Plat Extras, but those were not usable outside the US (at least in the later years), so they were useless to me. I had hoped that Hyatt might make a change to allow the Club Access Awards to be used for breakfast at properties without a club, but I guess that's not happening; I'll just have to look more at Prive, etc., but that means no Senior rates.
Dec 20, 2018, 6:15 am
#74
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,838
I doubt there are too many people who would place a 15K pt value on a Cat 1-4 free night that not only expires in 6 months but also cannot be combined with a TSU or a Club Access Award, in fact per the T&S cannot even be on the same stay as other nights using a TSU or Club Access Award. Even less value if there is no Cat 1-4 in your area of movement or that you want to stay at.
If I cannot use an upgrade, then I should only use my free night on a stay where I do NOT intend to use one of my 4 suite upgrades?
By definition the maximum value the cat 1-4 can be worth is 15k pts so a fair valuation would put it below 15k pts. How far below 15k pts depends on the guest's stay patterns.
Dec 20, 2018, 7:34 am
#75
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select
Posts: 966
And you'd have to stay at a Cat 4 to get the most value out of it, and that makes up maybe 10% of Hyatt's portfolio (never stayed at a Cat 4 myself...don't think they exist in Japan?) Plus the fact that points are essentially eternal for a Globalist.
You might convince me that a Cat 1-4 free night is worth 6000 points, but ...
You might convince me that a Cat 1-4 free night is worth 6000 points, but ...
I routinely use my free cat 1-4 night at the HR Boston where I’ve had room rates for 550/night and used the award. I’ve also used it for a Guest or Honor (free night coupons work with it) for my friend staying in Bangkok for the GH Bangkok there. The HR Amsterdam would be a good use of it as well.
Ive used the feee cat 1-7 award each year at the Hyatt ziva Cancun and have started a tradition of booking that in a January after I get the award. Right now that room rate is 500/night.
For me, these are very nice substitutes vs the diamond amenity award, especially since I do a lot of HH/HPs in rural towns I visit for work, so I’d only be getting 500 points. On the flip side tho. I did do 82 nights this year, so maybe my math sucks and I would have done better with the amenity